A lot of her slow cooker recipes are for small slow cookers, which is great, because that is what I have.

I will have to check out this site because the slow cooker I got is small (1.5 quarts). Anyone know any other good resources for smaller slow cookers? Most of the cookbooks I've looked at have recipes geared towards bigger ones, and I suck at math.

Thanks for posting the above link. I got a 1.5 qt crock for Christmas, too, and I just put together the pumpkin coffeecake oatmeal. I can't wait to try it in the morning.

I haven't seen a book geared towards smaller crocks, unfortunately, but I'll keep an eye out.

i have three slow cooker cookbooks: fresh from the vegetarian slow cooker (robin robertson) pretty much vegan, i have not cared for much that i made from it but am considering getting her newer one fresh from the vegan slow cooker. the vegan slow cooker (kathy hester) is pretty good, some hits and misses but overall a solid cookbook, and quick and easy vegan slow cooking by carla kelly which i love. every recipe i have made has turned out really well and far more flavorful than i would have thought. slow cookers really save dinner when i have worked overnight and am then up with the kids all day but still need to get dinner on the table that night.

Robin's cookbook is very veg/bean focused on the entrees. In the event that she uses a vegan meat, she offers alternatives, and to the best of my memory, Kathy's book does too. I would say you're safe with either. Robin's book is longer, but Kathy's book offers step by step suggestions for doing prep the night before so you can throw it together easily in the morning before you leave for work, school, etc. I have both and use both.

Thanks! Looks like I can't go wrong with either!

I got a 6 qt one and it seems that might be too big for our 2 person family. I might exchange for one a little smaller.

I got a 6 qt one and it seems that might be too big for our 2 person family. I might exchange for one a little smaller.

I think 6 quarts is a pretty good size for two people, if you have some space to freeze leftovers. You shouldn't generally fill it to the brim anyway but do fill it at least 1/2 full so it won't overheat and burn the edges (unless yours is really fancy, the less full it is, the hotter it will cook). The larger size would also be good for bread and cake recipes, which often call for placing another pan inside the slow cooker.

Hm, maybe I should keep the 6 then. I just get nervous some of the things I have read say it will cook too hot/fast if not full. I do like to have some leftovers in the fridge for a couple of days, and I supposed I could start freezing more. I do tend to get into the mindset of "If I'm cooking then I am COOKING" and make huge amounts even if it's just the 2 of us ;) I don't think I'll be doing any bread/cake in there as gf baking is tricky enough as it is, and I haven't made much of a foray into that area.

Hm, maybe I should keep the 6 then. I just get nervous some of the things I have read say it will cook too hot/fast if not full. I do like to have some leftovers in the fridge for a couple of days, and I supposed I could start freezing more. I do tend to get into the mindset of "If I'm cooking then I am COOKING" and make huge amounts even if it's just the 2 of us ;) I don't think I'll be doing any bread/cake in there as gf baking is tricky enough as it is, and I haven't made much of a foray into that area.

Probably 2/3 full is optimal. With any slow cooker, I'd definitely recommend making recipes while you are at home to check on them toward the end of cooking the first few times you make them. I have yet to find a recipe that takes more than 8 hours in my 6.5 qt slow cooker -- most are done at the earlier end of the indicated time range, so I prefer to use the slow cooker on weekends.

How about The Indian Vegan Slow Cooker (Anupy Singla) - does anyone have this? It's omni but the reviews say it's very adaptable to veg*n.

Can't edit but that should just say The Indian Slow Cooker - it is not vegan.

Anupy Singla has a new one out called Vegan Indian Cooking that is totally vegan and mostly slow-cooker based. I highly recommend it if you're looking to do Indian meals in your crock pot. Amazon has their "Look Inside" feature, so you can see the table of contents, although none of the recipes are in the preview.

How about The Indian Vegan Slow Cooker (Anupy Singla) - does anyone have this? It's omni but the reviews say it's very adaptable to veg*n.

Can't edit but that should just say The Indian Slow Cooker - it is not vegan.

Anupy Singla has a new one out called Vegan Indian Cooking that is totally vegan and mostly slow-cooker based. I highly recommend it if you're looking to do Indian meals in your crock pot. Amazon has their "Look Inside" feature, so you can see the table of contents, although none of the recipes are in the preview.

Oh, thank you, I hadn't realized that Vegan Indian Cooking would be so crockpotty! Will look into that one.

I actually just ended up making beans in mine for the first time, due to lack of ingredients for the stew I wanted to make.

I am not officially in love with a slow cooker. Those beans were great. Beans, water, onion, peppers, tomatoes, chipotles, spices...that's all. it was that easy. And super good. Didn't even need to soak the beans.

Need to pick up a slow cooker recipe book now.

My partner promised he would help me in the morning prepare stuff, then put it in and turn it on before going to work. He leaves later and comes home way earlier than me, so we can probably do some 8 hour recipes on weeknights. I need to check out those books and see if they have a good amount of 8+ hour recipes though. Otherwise, we won't use it often enough to justify buying another cookbook.

Hi everyone! Forgive me if the answer to this question is in a different thread--I searched and didn't see it, so here I am.

I just got a crockpot and I'm not totally sure what to do with it. I'm wondering what recipes from cookbooks that aren't specifically designed for the crockpot (don't have any of those books--just moved, don't have a lot of extra $ with which to buy them) can be successfully made with one. If you've made recipes from Vcon or VWAV with a crockpot--I'd be grateful to know which ones! I have most of Isa's books and many of Dreena's books--but feel free to post answers about any cookbook.

It was really good. Next time, I might use slightly less red lentils, and add some chickpeas. And of course I practically doubled up on spices, like I always tend to do. Chicki likes her lentils SPICY!

(the slow cooker keeps liquids in more effectively than cooking on a stove.)[/quote]

Thanks! I did not know this. Is there anything that I can't make in a slow cooker, because the temperature will never get hot enough? Mine does have temperature settings, but only low, medium, and high.

^^ my understanding is that modern slow cookers are quite a bit hotter (even in low mode) that the old slow cookers to make it safer for the meat gluttons: the high setting are usually at boiling point so whatever you cook in a pot, you should be fine cooking in a slow cooker.

Just to add my two cents to the task of making seitan in the slow cooker....

Vegan Diner has a recipe called something like Not Your Mama's Pot Roast, and you make the seitan, throw it down into the slow cooker, toss some veggies and gravy ingredients in there, and let it go. It was delicious. The gravy did turn out a touch salty for us, so in the future I'd cut back on the salt and soy sauce, but it's still amazing. The seitan wasn't spongy; it was springy but not like water-logged. It did turn out a funny shape cuz of how the veggies lay on top of it, but whatever.

One thing about converting regular cookbok recipes into slow cooker recipes that I've learned is that it is pretty easy to do, especially with soups and stews. Sometimes to up the flavor quotient, I will saute whatever veggies are going into it on the stovetop, then add them to the slow cooker along with the remaining ingredients. Sometimes I just make everything directly in the slow cooker; it just depends on my mood. I also love cooking pureed soups in there; I just use my stick blender to whirl it all up after it is done cooking. Easy!